My Friend Rika
by Bekahbee
Summary: Angst, best friends, boyfriends, school, magic, romance, and comedy! Done in a shojomanga style narrative inspired by many different shojo mangas.
1. The Characters

Shojo Characters

The Girls

Ichiko Nagashiro - the 'every girl' and heroine of the story.

Aya Takada - the loudmouth hothead.

Toshi Yakahashi - the classy smart-aleck.

Mizuki Tachibana - the sweet, silly, stupid one.

Hikaru Aogiri - the quiet, pensive, brilliant one.

Tetsushi – Ichiko's ex-boyfriend.

Shuichi – Aya's mysterious love interest.

Yasuake – Mizuki's crush that considers her a good "guy" friend.

Atsuro – Aya's friend that is in love with her.

Gaku – Toshi's friend and love/hate relationship go-to guy.

Shoji Takabayashi – Hikaru's fiancé and resident bully.

Shintaro-sensei – Teacher and die-hard object of love for Hikaru.

Yukifumi Yamazaki– Toshi's rich and spoiled crush.

Komatsu Toda – Tetsushi's new best friend that happens to be evil.

Kyou – Yasu's best friend; in love with Mizuki.

Yukihiko – Yukifumi's twin brother that no one knows about.

Rika Yamaguchi – Ichiko's roommate and possible witch.

Osono-sensei – The principal of the co-ed boarding school.

Mashimaro – Ichiko's resident advisor; given nickname Marshmallow.

Daisuke-sensei - Ichiko's first teacher of the day.

Sumikko – the weirdo screenwriter with a bad case of ego.

Aoi Hari – the handsome leader of group 6.

Megumi Tsuda – the meanest and most talkative girl in 11th year.

Natsu Shuei – hot-tempered, foul-mouthed boy with an inner heart of gold.

Chidori Shuro – quiet, nice girl that gets picked on a lot for not speaking up.


	2. An Obligatory Prologue

I had no idea I was auditioning for something. I wish the guy had told me before I had made a fool of myself at the movies. Ever since my longtime boyfriend dumped me last month, they've been trying to shove all sorts of guys in my face hoping I'll swoon. I sat at the lunch table pondering all sorts of things, namely a date I'd had that I didn't really know was a date. I only found out it was a date when the guy told me he felt nothing for me and I just stood there thinking, "Um…ok."

"Don't worry, Ichiko. At least we'll always be here for you." Mizuki said. She sipped her peach tea and smiled reassuringly. I was reassured, but I still felt rather…rejected, I suppose.

"Boys are stupid anyway, Ichiko. Why do think I'm not dating?" Aya asked, her arms crossed over her chest. Toshi laughed and her long, wavy black hair whisked around her mischievous face.

"Because no boy will have you, that's why!" She said with glee. I laughed in spite of myself and sighed because it had felt so good to laugh.

"That's ridiculous, Toshi. Just yesterday I turned down a senior. Can you imagine? A real live, red-blooded senior."

"Senior citizens, perhaps. But this doesn't help Ichiko at all, now does it?" Toshi fussed.

"Neither does insulting Aya." Hikaru mumbled. Hikaru leaned her chin on her fist and sighed.

"Nothing. He said he felt nothing. This is the fourth rejection I've had in a month."

"How could we forget? Old stupid asshole face wrote you a letter and had his best friend give it to you in English class…" Aya began in a feverish voice.

"Yeah, and then you admitted to what-his-name that you had a crush on him last year and asked him out but he said it was too late for those feelings and said you'd be better off as friends." Toshi blurted out. Hikaru rolled her eyes.

"And then obviously there was that fiasco with the cute curly headed college kid. I still can't believe you asked him out without knowing his name first. You were surprised that he didn't go for it? If he had taken you up on it then that would have proved him too shallow. I don't have an idea in the world what you were thinking." Hikaru added in obligatory fashion.

"Then there was that guy that asked you to the movies…but hey, at least HE asked YOU." Mizuki tried to be cheerful. Hikaru nodded emphatically. Aya smiled wide. Toshi bit her lip in anger and glanced around in case she saw him.

"Hey, I know I'm not the only one with men troubles here. It might do me some good to talk about other problems for awhile."

"No complaints here." Aya quipped. We all laughed, and then we laughed harder when her face turned red.

Aya Takada was deeply in love with a mysterious guy that we'd never seen or really knew much about. All we did know was that he was in trouble with the law or some similar situation. Meanwhile, a guy she grew up with who had been one of her best friends for ages was pining away for her in a frustrated silence. She was a smart ditz that always spoke her mind regardless of how appropriate it was.

Mizuki Tachibana had strong feelings for this popular guy. They were good friends, definitely, but something in Mizuki's make-up gave her no option to explore the possibilities of a relationship. She was content being "one of the guys."

Toshi Yakahashi was hung up on some guy who happened to be extremely rich and extremely taken. He had a fiancé and a girlfriend. But there was this semi-cute hacker she always fought with that seemed like he'd be perfect for her. The guy was funny and dangerous, which was totally Toshi's type even if she didn't realize it yet.

And Hikaru was unfortunately drawn to one of our teachers at school. She was really good friends with a guy, however, that bullied her badly even though he loved her. Hikaru Aogiri was the quiet one who usually took what was given to her, good or bad. This was the reason why Hikaru put up with being bullied. I seemed to be the only one who wasn't so much in love and who wasn't loved by anyone else other than my friends.

All of us were living the lives of heroines from a shojo manga. I sighed as I watched them argue over what was happening and whose pain was worse. We all had it bad and that was no contest at all.

"At least you guys have people attracted to you. I can't even get someone to date me and sorta like it." I said without enthusiasm. The girls all turned to stare at me.

"You can't keep feeling sorry for yourself forever." Hikaru looked me straight in the eye. I nodded solemnly and gave them all a half smile that said I would try my best.

"Well…you-know-who asked me to you-know-what…you-know-where…" Aya began.

"What?" Toshi glared at her skeptically.

"Actually I understood that. Shuichi asked her to do the nasty in the garden shed outside school." I said.

"Thanks for translating that bit of nonsense." Mizuki said, her eyes smiling. Aya seemed almost offended that no one understood her original statement. Yasuake came up behind her and punched her shoulder.

"Yasu…how was practice?" Mizuki couldn't hide the stars in her eyes and I yawned at our predictability. Every day it was the same exact thing. Yasu gave Mizuki an update on how well he did in track. Atsuro would say 'hi' to Aya and would completely (and unintentionally) ignore his signals, which usually ended in his leaving in an angry mood. Gaku spent at least five minutes trying to piss off Toshi (succeeding 100 of the time) and then trying to apologize. Then Shoji would drop by sometime to tell Hikaru that he needed her to run another errand, making derogatory remarks to her and being completely rude to the rest of us. She told us that he had something on her that she couldn't afford to let leak to the entire school. And we were helpless to stop him, apparently.


	3. Tetsushi

_Ichiko looked so sad. I remember the day that Tetsushi had his awful letter delivered. She was hysterical for about an hour or two and she kept asking why. We were all so sure that they would get married. Of all of us, we had assumed that Ichiko was the one who knew what she was doing in love and relationships._

_ After all, she was the most irreverent of all of us. And if it deserved to happen to any one of us, it was Ichiko. We couldn't understand his reasons for the sudden breakup but we understood how it made Ichiko go to pieces. It was all I could do not to cry every night, thinking about her and how her once perfect plans were in a sham. _

_I once dreamt that Yasu and I had gotten married and he left me at the altar with no explanation but a letter. Tetsushi was the nicest guy I had ever known, but he did something terrible and I couldn't help but wonder if Tetsushi was capable of such cruelty, who's to say that Yasu wouldn't do the same thing if I were to truly to fall in love with him. - Mizuki  
_

_The second I heard about Tetsushi and his chicken-shit way of doing his dirty laundry, I wanted to castrate him and hang his testicles out to dry. Ichiko was the best thing that ever happened to him and their relationship deserved so much better than he gave it. If any boy had ever done that to me I would have killed him._

_ Atsuro swears that not all guys are like that…the jury's still out on that one. I don't know how Ichiko can get up every morning and see the hope of a brand new day, the way she can still look back on their time together with fondness, the way she forgave Tetsushi so quickly and was willing to be his friend. She's a much better person than I am, And the worst part is that Tetsushi was uncomfortable around her because he expected her to hate him. In reality, he hoped she would in order to appease his guilty-ass conscience. - Aya  
_

_Tetsushi was not at all the person I thought he was. He's not the person any of us thought he was, I don't think. He had us all fooled into thinking he was some great catch. At least that's the way Ichiko made it sound. We thought that surely he was some fairytale prince. He was sweet and caring. He seemed to try really hard at being the best boyfriend he could be. We were all so proud of him and his tireless efforts. But somewhere down the line…he stopped trying. He got fed up more easily. _

_I could see the pain in Ichiko's eyes but I don't think she let herself believe anything was wrong. Tetsushi wrote a bunch of garbage in some dumb letter and hurt Ichiko deeply. He was immature about everything and we overestimated him greatly. I just wish that we had known before he got the chance to cause her pain. Even Gaku, childish jackass that he is, mentioned that a guy can never get so low in his life than by promising his future to a girl and then giving up without telling her. I'm inclined to agree with him but just this once. - Toshi  
_

_She once told him that she couldn't picture anyone else in her life but him. He agreed wholeheartedly and went so far as to give her a promise ring, reserving the ring finger of her left hand. I'd never seen Ichiko so happy. Her life seemed to be complete…all she had to do then was live it._

_ But he dumped her like week-old trash. It was as if they had been in an elementary school relationship. He was a moron and I can only hope that someday he realizes what a mistake he made. They were great together, but I wish a better man for Ichiko than he was. He left her broken and all of us had to pick up the pieces, wondering exactly what went wrong. In a way I guess he did this to all of us. We were his friends, too, after all. At least we were. - Hikaru  
_

_It doesn't matter much now, I guess. I used to live by that old adage of 'everything happens for a reason.' If that were really true, then there better be a damn good reason why this went down that way it did. I can't help but sigh and rack my brain trying to figure out what went wrong, if there was something I could have done to change things, if there still might be something I can do now…but I almost end up driving myself up a wall. I have to remember that it wasn't my fault and that if he doesn't want me anymore, that isn't my problem. _

_But it's so hard when somebody tells you you're their world and then a month later they tell you that you're not their perfect match. I find myself wondering if he really meant it in the first place. I wonder if the entire relationship was something fake…like the two of us were looking at each other in different ways, reading on different pages. I would inadvertently put words in his mouth that I wanted to hear and I never realized he said them just to make me happy. I guess I've been the fool for so long I couldn't see it. - Ichiko  
_

I yawned. All of us were sitting on the quad in the sunshine playing cards in our casual clothes. We never did much on schooldays. We were given too much work anyway and weren't allowed off school grounds even after we were finished. It was cards or independent study groups. We chose the cards.

"Hikaru-chan…you're playing like an amateur. What's on your mind?" I asked. There was sweat on her brow and she appeared to be nervous.

"Nothing. It's nothing, Ichiko…I think I'll go to the infirmary. I don't feel so well."

"We'll go with you." Mizuki offered. Hikaru shook her head. She gave us a smile and headed toward the nurse's office.

"Well that was suspicious. What do you think is wrong?" Aya asked us.

"If it was a major crisis, she'd let us know. She probably just has a headache." Toshi replied. This wasn't enough to satisfy Aya's curiosity, though.

"What if she has a fatal illness or something? We should find out." She said.

"Whatever it is, Hikaru should come to us in her own time. We shouldn't force her." Mizuki and I both said in different words. We glanced at each other and nodded in tiny laughter. Aya sighed impatiently. Naturally we were all curious but we trusted Hikaru enough to tell us if it were necessary.

I was lying on my bed that night writing in a journal. Journal entries filled up a lot faster since the day Tetsushi broke up with me. My roommate had been cutting up little paper dolls and mumbling to herself in an odd way. I almost offered to help her but I was mildly frightened, to tell the truth.

"Um, Rika…I was going to get a drink out of the machine…do you want anything?" I wanted to get on her good side in case she knew voodoo. She grunted with her back still turned and waved me off with her pair of scissors. I returned later with my soda only to find her still at it. Ripping little bits of doll left and right. I sipped my soda in silence and text messaged Toshi.

'my rmate is gettn crazy w/ her scissors.'

'mine is snoring. b grateful. :)'

I curled up in bed and tried to read some manga but my thoughts kept drifting toward Tetsushi and how much I missed him. For some reason I just couldn't get him out of my head. It was maddening how much he resisted when I tried to push his memory from my mind. Instead of him, however, I made myself think about Hikaru and what might have been wrong with her. After worrying for a bit, I turned out my light and tried to sleep. But it wasn't easy.

I woke up with an itchy nose and realized that a stray paper strip had climbed onto it. I sighed, turning onto my stomach and shoving my hands under my pillow. I squealed in pain as I felt my right hand begin to bleed. I grabbed my pillow with my left hand and lifted it high above my head, discovering a pair of ill-fated scissors. I turned to my roommate's bed and by sheer luck she was gone. Otherwise I might have lunged after her with those scissors.

At breakfast I had managed to put bandages over my hand and hid it under the table. Our principal, Osono-sensei, did assembly as usual, and I tried to spot Rika in the cafeteria but she evidently evaporated. I reached for my glass of milk and heard a gasp from Mizuki.

"What did you do to your hand?" She asked.

"A demented tooth fairy left me the wrong commerce," I growled, "Actually my roommate left her scissors under my pillow."

"And I thought I had it bad." Toshi exclaimed.

"Well, I have heard rumors…about Rika…" Aya began in a voice that implied that she wanted us to ask her what she knew.

"Okay, I'll bite since she happens to be my roommate." I said. Aya's eyes flashed, feeling at her happiest when she was gossiping the pants off someone.

"It just so happens that Rika is a sorceress." She said in a light whisper. She paused for effect and glared us down when we broke into gales of girlish laughter.

"She's odd, Aya-chan. She's not a witch." I told her. Aya shook her head.

"I said sorceress, not witch. There's a big difference between them." To this statement I rolled my eyes and nibbled on my piece of burnt toast.


	4. The Tree Cat

_Can you imagine? Rika a witch? A witch at our school would definitely make things interesting around here. The only downside is that Ichiko's life may be in danger because her roommate might be a dangerous witch. I suppose if she had to, she could talk to our resident advisor and relocate. _

_But this late in the semester…I wouldn't hold my breath. Maybe we could befriend Rika. She does seem sort of lonely. And that way we could insure Ichiko's safety, make a new friend, and learn a little magic to boot! -Mizuki  
_

_I was sitting in class talking, as usual, and an ex-roommate of Rika's began telling me that she was into tarot cards and reading horoscopes, memorizing her zodiac and consulting the stars. In other words, she told me that Rika was a fruitcake. _

_No, she didn't tell me verbatim that Rika was a sorceress, but I added that part myself for dramatic effect. She might as well be one anyway, nobody would know the difference. Anyhow, upon first hearing this I brushed it off. The girl who blabbed was terribly flaky and I wasn't about to give her the benefit of the doubt. Then Ichiko came to lunch with a shredded paw and I felt guilty for not saying anything sooner. - Aya  
_

_Aya can be such a flake sometimes. No one with half a brain would believe that Rika was a sorceress. She can't even make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. - Toshi  
_

_Shoji came up to me after lunch yesterday…I had hoped he would forget. A long time ago I promised Shoji that I would keep his secret. It didn't seem serious at the time, but I don't know if I can continue to lie to my best friends. Actually I suppose it's more our secret than just his. _

_When we were very little, his grandfather made a deal with my parents and from then on Shoji became my intended husband. My parents were greedy and Shoji's family was quite wealthy. Why his grandfather chose me for the match, I cannot say. I don't really understand it myself. Yesterday, Shoji told me to meet him after school. He told me that his grandfather and my parents had set a date for the wedding. They want us to get married in the summer after I finish junior year. _

_They also want me to drop out, but they want Shoji to stay in school and go on to college. I argued with him that I should have every right to continue my education if I wanted to. He somewhat agreed, but he said he wasn't going to go against his grandfather's wishes. I left feeling rather angry. I don't know what to do and I can't even find the right words to tell my friends…Rika? Somehow I'm not surprised. - Hikaru  
_

_Rika's a witch. Go figure. And I thought this year couldn't get any worse. It's bad enough going to the same school as Tetsushi without having to see his ugly face at art club meetings. Plus seeing him swagger all over the place with his new set of pals he picked up…and no I am not bitter. I could give a damn or even less than that._

_ Well Rika is making me uneasy and I don't know how to confront her. She could probably change me into a toad if she wanted. But I doubt she could make me any less desirable than I already am. My right hand hurts like hell when I have to write. If she wasn't a witch I would smack her around a bit and see how she likes it. If you can't tell, I'm a little grumpy due to the incessant burning pain on my hand…Okay, I'm finished with my whole complaining spiel. For now, at least. - Ichiko  
_

I saw Rika in my first class of the day. She was busy jotting down notes in some strange composition book and I gave a wry smirk to her back. We turned in some papers at the end of class and I brushed by her desk like a breeze. I semi-accidentally knocked her paper off her desk and I swooped down to pick it up. I handed it back to her slowly, making sure she saw my bandaged hand. She looked into my eyes but said nothing. I waited outside of the classroom until she had left and wondered if maybe she wasn't really a witch after all. Perhaps she was just…weird. Really weird.

We had another class together after lunch. She stayed quiet the whole time and I became somewhat bored watching her. But the second that class was over, she zoomed out of the room. I was more than prepared to follow her just in case. She went down the stairs to the janitor's floor where lots of storage was kept and then she went down another flight of steps to the basement where the boiler room was. Luckily no one saw us because wandering around down below the first floor was punishable by house arrest. Nothing but classrooms and dorm rooms for a whole month.

Well, Rika looked around and I ducked behind a huge pipe. She then turned around and sat on the cold stone floor. She was sorting things in front of her and I couldn't see very well through the pipe. I peered around it and was disappointed to find her doing her homework. For this I was skipping cards on the quad. I prepared to go back where I came from in as silent a fashion as possible when I heard a poof sound and smelled some green smoke. I turned around and Rika was nowhere in sight. After the smoke cleared, I noticed a rather hideous-looking tree cat where Rika had been.

"Rika? Why are you a cat?" I asked. Her body was a rather chubby, gnarled log. Her limbs were uneven branches and vines, while her paws were rotten leaves. And her face…was normal. A rather surprisingly cute, run-of-the mill cat face, colored green. I was confused. The cat hissed at me and darted around my legs. She clawed at me and made a big fuss, but I couldn't help but chuckle. I picked her up by the scruff of her log and held her close, but not too close to my face.

"I'll leave you alone. In exchange for the exact same courtesy from you."

Rika flew out of my hand and grew to her normal self with another poof. We were standing face to face and I had hoped that I didn't bite off more than I could chew.

"I'm a reasonable person…However, since you're my roommate I need your help. I need you to cover for me so that this rumor doesn't get any bigger. If you can do that for me, I will gladly teach you a spell."

"A spell? Can't you just leave me alone?" I asked.

"I need you to play a part. Pretend I'm normal. Tell your friends I'm normal…You can't be left alone to do all this." Rika replied with a tinge of hostility. I shrugged.

"My choice of spell? No dinky ones, now."

"Fine. Do you agree to keep my secret and help me when I need it?"

"Sure, sure. Teach me how to do a love spell." I said excitedly.

"Um…no. I don't do love spells. That's a little too flowery for me and even if it wasn't, all love spells are risky anyway."

"Do it or no deal, Rika. Helping you by lying to my friends doesn't come cheap." And even then I planned on telling my friends everything.

"Fine. Fine! Whatever you want." Rika shrieked.

"Is this a good time to talk about spell warranties? You know…if I'm not completely satisfied, can I turn it in for another one?"

"Are you serious?" She asked in a fury. I nodded smugly. She grunted and rolled her crazy eyes. I grinned, knowing that I had won out against Rika, the tree witch.

Back in our dorm room, Rika handed me a blank piece of paper and began to "customize" my spell, as she called it. She would ask me questions and I answered on the paper.

"Permanent or temporary?" Rika asked. I stroked my chin. Permanent sounded wonderful, but very…permanent.

"Might I suggest temporary? You can always update the spell if you like it. Permanence is something I hate to mess with." Upon hearing this, I jotted down temporary.

"Who do you want to cast this spell on?" I scribbled down Tetsushi's name and felt embarrassed for still wanting him so badly. Though I wouldn't let him off the hook easily for what he did.

"Are there any particular things you want to change? Some habits he may have, such as not calling when he says he will?" Rika asked as if reading my mind. I stopped myself cold and realized what I was doing was crazy. Tetsushi didn't want me anymore and I had no right to mess with his free will.

"Wait, Rika. I can't do this. It's wrong." I cried. Rika nodded grimly and took my paper, crumpling it up and throwing it in the waste bin.

"Think of another spell and tell me tomorrow. I'm going to bed."


	5. A Lesson Learned

_Ichiko skipped lunch for some reason and she didn't meet us at the quad like usual. She wasn't in her dorm room and she didn't reply to any text messages. I'm really worried about her. Aya says she probably yelled at Rika and was made to turn into an alligator lampshade, but Toshi told her to shut up and get real. Hikaru guessed that she probably just needed some alone time. After all, it wasn't long ago that Tetsushi broke her heart. - Mizuki  
_

_I bet she had an altercation with Rika. If anyone ever needed proof that someone was a dangerous witch…I suppose she might have just needed to cry by herself, but I really think that her absence has something to do with that crazy roommate of hers. I hope she wasn't kidnapped or cast a spell on. Come to think of it, even if Rika was a witch, she probably wouldn't be a very good one. - Aya  
_

_Ichiko needs some space. That's all. I may not know what it feels like to lose a love, but I can imagine that I'd want some time to think and to grieve and to eventually heal. My thinking is that this entire ordeal with what's-her-face witch poser has sparked some feelings that Ichiko hasn't dealt with yet. _

_Maybe she's been hiding them or ignoring them. Approaching other different problems has made Ichiko realize some inner demons that didn't go away. I explained all of this to Aya, Mizuki, and Hikaru, but do you think they listened? Not on your bumhole! - Toshi  
_

_The situation is to say the least intriguing. Even though none of us can say it out loud, we're all thinking it. She could very well be hurt or in danger. If she's not, then it is all of us girls who'll hurt. - Hikaru  
_

_I promised Rika I would not tell my friends anything. I was crossing my fingers under my bandages the whole time I made that promise. I avoided the girls after school because I wanted Rika to think that I could hold my tongue. If I darted out to meet them as soon as I found out, she would have been suspicious. It was for their protection, I tell myself. But I still feel guilty. - Ichiko  
_

At breakfast the next day, I told them everything. Well…most everything. I skipped the part about the particular wish I had wanted. I knew they would have been disappointed in me. I was supposed to have been making progress. Anyway, I managed to redeem myself for not telling them sooner by saying that I was under witch protection and so were they.

It was pure bull but I figured I could take care of them with the spells that Rika would teach me. Just as Osono-sensei finished her monotonous turkey of an assembly speech, we all headed toward our first class. Before I made it out of the cafeteria, strangely enough, Tetsushi tapped me on the shoulder.

"Ichiko…we need to talk." He said in a solemn voice. I pursed my lips and vaguely wondered why I had wanted to cast a love spell on him anyway.

"You've already said more than enough to me for a lifetime." I mumbled. He pulled me aside and planted a quick kiss on my lips. I froze, feeling somewhat angered by this action that I had missed so much. I finally looked at him and frowned heavily.

"What the devil do you think you're doing?" I asked him. He smiled like I was playing a trick on him.

"Kissing my girlfriend, of course." He said with glee. It was like the entirety of last month never happened.

"Hold that thought for a second." I said to him, racing to my class. Despite Rika crumpling up my paper, something had been magicked yesterday. I spotted Rika in her usual desk ahead of me and I leaned down next to her.

"What did you do?" I whispered. Rika bit her entire bottom lip and my eyes widened in preparation.

"I blocked out part of his memory please don't be mad at me!!!" Rika croaked back quickly. I exhaled a humongous and rather loud sigh to which Daisuke-sensei cleared his throat and politely asked me to sit down. It's true that maybe at one time I wanted Tetsushi back. I really did. But now, I'm not so sure. I could never forget how horrible he had been.

I forgave him, naturally, but forgiving is not the same thing as forgetting. I guess my standards changed after he broke it off. The only way I could take him back now was under the condition that he was a changed man. A grown up, mature man. And from that dopey look on his face I could tell he was none of these things.

After class he was waiting outside for me and offered to hold my books for me, which he'd never done before. Perhaps magic brings out the best in people. I carried my own things and walked beside him, letting him talk to me but never really saying anything back. This was weird. A few of his friends gave us odd glances and I wondered how long temporary actually was.

"Nice…did he grovel at your feet and beg you to take him back? I knew it was only a matter of time before he did." Aya said to me, nudging me in the ribs. I didn't know how to explain, so I giggled nervously.

"You guys are back together? That's nice, I guess." Mizuki said uneasily.

"You shouldn't take him back, Ichiko. He was a complete bastard to you." Toshi said after a time.

"As long as he can give you what you want now, and as long as you're careful with your heart, I see nothing wrong with it." Hikaru told me in a quiet voice. I smiled and thought to myself. It was true that I loved Tetsushi and that I wanted him back, but only if he could give me what I wanted. I knew the answer to Hikaru's statement at once.

Tetsushi couldn't give me what I wanted anymore. It really was over. As soon as I came upon this reality I felt something in the atmosphere burst. I glanced at Tetsushi and the warmth I had once seen in his eyes whenever he looked at me…it was gone. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Rika dashing off to the restroom. I excused myself and immediately set off behind her. When I entered Rika gave me a strange smile that I could only interpret as she had succeeded in teaching me a valuable lesson. I was stumped.


	6. The Right Spell

_You can imagine my surprise when I saw Ichiko and Tetsushi walking down the hall together. It was like being struck by thunder. _

_I didn't see it coming because I had assumed that Tetsushi was a case closed jerk. I try to be nice but even I have a difficult time being civil to him. And then I watch them practically holding hands and I wonder what he said to make her throw the past away. - Mizuki  
_

_The way Tetsushi was looking at her during our math class was making me sick to my stomach. The little twerp flushed her like a piece of crap and now he was trying to retrieve the waste. If I were Ichiko, you can bet I'd never take him back. Granted I'd let him think I would while exacting revenge on him and then performing retribution. _

_Even if she was going to take him back, she shouldn't have jumped on his bandwagon immediately. Sometimes I wonder if Ichiko has any pride or dignity left. Funny how guys have the innate ability to take those things from us. - Aya  
_

_We all have to live our own lives and do what we feel is right for us. That being said, I highly disapprove of what I saw. Tetsushi just flips a switch and suddenly he's like he was four or five months ago when he saw stars for Ichiko. I can't understand how feelings can fade and just reappear like magic. - Toshi  
_

_Basically I would have been happy for Ichiko. It was all she wanted and had been wanting for a month. It was her deepest wish. But seeing her face as all of this was going on, I knew she was confused. She didn't know whether or not he might do it again, or even if she really truly wanted his love anymore. _

_Especially after all that had transpired between them. I hope what I told her gave her the courage to return the dream that he had broken. - Hikaru  
_

_Rika is a hell of a lot smarter than I gave her credit for. Not only did she lure me to follow her the other day, (looking back it was really obvious), but she managed to help me sort out my feelings for Tetsushi. Rika hides her light under a bushel, that's for sure. Now if I can only figure out what magic spell I want to do now… -Ichiko  
_

"Actually the spell is for a friend. She doesn't know it, yet, though. I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to her." I told Rika later that night. Rika sighed and flipped through her detailed horoscope book.

"You see, she has this…friend. And this friend of hers really likes her, I'm pretty sure. She likes him, too. The problem is that both of them are far too shy to do anything about it."

"Ichiko…I don't do love spells."

"Courage spell." I corrected. Rika set her jaw in a funny way and cocked her head to one side.

"That's the kind of thing that can only happen in its own time. Otherwise it isn't genuine. You wouldn't want to ruin the natural course of fate and the stars, would you?" Rika asked. Something about Rika made me think she was a genius in hiding.

"Well…how about my friend that thinks she doesn't love this one guy, only she does. She's just too stupid to notice." I asked.

"Again, that's something you shouldn't interfere with, Ichiko-chan." Rika said, fully immersed in her book. I smiled at the way she said my name. Perhaps, even if she wouldn't admit it, she was growing fond of me somewhat.

"How about a friend that-"

"Listen, Ichiko, your friends have to be the ones to want help. You can't be the one to force help onto them." Rika interjected. I sighed.

"Do you know any spells to help me get an 'A' on my music test? Lemme guess, you can't do spells that substitute for good old-fashioned hard work. This stinks, Rika-chan." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. I racked my brain to think of some fun spell. Something useful that didn't mess with the eternal flux of life, basically.

"Can you turn me into a guy?" I said out of the blue, blue sky. Rika raised an eyebrow and gazed at me from behind her book.

"Why in the world do you want to be a guy?" She asked.

"Well, everything else seems to be off limits. Nothing I really want to do is acceptable." I said in exasperation. Rika gave a slight nod.

"If that's what you really want…" She said. She turned out her light and settled into bed. I went to bed myself wondering how it was going to happen and what I would feel once it did. I did not dream but in the morning it seemed a bit worse than a dream.

I got up and realized that my bed was far too short. I got out of bed and I examined my feet. They had grown at least five inches. My arms and legs were longer, my shoulders broader. My hair was shorter, choppier. I had seen a few boys with this type of haircut and I thought they were kinda cute. At least I didn't have facial hair. I looked in the mirror and my soft, round cheeks were straight and angular. My eyes were smaller, and my face was

bigger. My nose, I am sorry to say, was huge. Overall, I looked…okay. I was the type of guy that probably never got any girls but was well-liked regardless. The former I had no problem with whatsoever. I saw Rika's reflection behind me in the mirror and she smirked in a friendly sort of way.

"Good morning, Ichiko-kun." She said. I gave her a grin that stretched from ear to giant ear.

"You're darn right!" I said. I was proud of my sudden guy-ness. I couldn't wait to see how the other half lived.

"Hi, girls. What do you think about my newfound gender?" I asked my best friends as I sat down at our table. They were stone silent, staring at me as though I'd lost my mind.


	7. Changing in the Boy's Room

_She's lost her mind. - Mizuki  
_

_She's lost her mind!!! - Aya  
_

_She's lost her mind. - Toshi  
_

_She's lost her mind… - Hikaru  
_

_I have soooo not lost my mind. - Ichiko  
_

"What have you done to yourself?" Toshi asked me. She stared me down as though she could change me back.

"Nothing much. Just an experiment. You know how these things go…" I said as though I were oh-so clever.

"This is creeping me out, Ichiko. Turn back." Aya said.

"Actually it looks like it'd be fun. We should ask Rika if we could all be boys!" Mizuki put in. She acted as though she was serious about her statement and I shrugged.

"Do you want me to go ask Rika?" I offered. Before anything was said, a sudden shift in the atmosphere caused a quick blindness and when I could see again, all of my best friends had turned into guys. Aya and Toshi were looking at Mizuki with daggers in their eyes.

Hikaru had barely noticed and decided not to make a big deal of it. She sipped her milk through a straw and yawned. Rika retreated into the shadows with a big smile on her face.

Gym class occurred somewhere between lunch and our other classes of the morning. This was the only class that all of us had together. Out of habit we went to the girls' changing room. I heard a few squeals as I was working on opening my locker and I looked up to an army of blushing, furious faces.

"Oh, wow. This isn't the guys' changing room." I said, backing out in haste. Aya had gone straight to the boys' locker room anyway and was standing there surveying all the uncomfortable male specimens.

"Stop staring." Toshi muttered to her. Mizuki held her hands on either side of her temples and kept her head down. Hikaru simply walked in as though nothing were out of the ordinary and changed into the regular uniform. It was quite snug on her, but no one seemed to notice. And I ducked behind a row of lockers when I spotted Tetsushi and his evil friend, Komatsu. Unfortunately they parked their pale bodies not two feet away from where I was hiding. I tried to ignore their conversation. Sort of.

"Tetsushi, I thought you dumped that bitch last month." Komatsu griped.

"Don't call her that. She's still my friend." Tetushi replied defensively.

"Then how come I saw you guys kissing after assembly yesterday?"

"We didn't kiss. I haven't kissed her in over a month. What are you talking about?" Tetsushi seemed genuinely puzzled. The spell erased his memory of yesterday, no doubt.

"I know what I saw. Ask me or anybody else who saw you. It was like you guys were back together."

"Whatever. I can't be her boyfriend anymore. I'm still not ready. Whatever you saw the other day, I am not back together with Ichiko." Tetsushi stated. He sounded sad, which made me feel a bunch of different things. I was glad that he cared, even if it wasn't the same.

But naturally I felt sorry that he was still wrestling with himself about growing up. Suddenly I heard Yasuake and his deluded friend Kyou stumble onto the other side of the same row of lockers.

"If you're not interested, why won't you let me have her? You can't prevent me from asking her out, you know. Just because she's a good pal of yours." Kyou said in a low, venomous tone. Yasu grunted and sat down on the wooden plank beside him.

"Listen, Kyou…if you really like her…I guess you should try to ask her out. I won't stand in your way." Yasu finished changing and left the locker room. I heard Kyou run after him shouting.

"Fine. I WILL ask Mizuki out!" He yelled to his retreating back. Mizuki put her hands down and stared at Kyou with her jaw agape.


	8. Acting Over Baking

_I'm speechless. I haven't known what to say ever since I heard. Kyou is one of my best guy pals. I never knew he had feelings for me. I wish I hadn't heard anything. - Mizuki  
_

_There are some fine-looking guys in our school. Why did I, of all people, not realize how many delicious pieces of eye-candy there were. Boy, did I get glad really quick that I had turned into a boy. So many hotties, so little time. And the things they say when they think girls aren't around? Shameless. Take Kyou, for instance. Asking out Mizuki. I don't know that he would be good enough for her. But that's just me. - Aya  
_

_Boys are disgusting. They smell and they swear and they can't even keep anything sacred. Such as professing their love for a certain girl they adore. Men must be the stupidest of all God's creatures. I am not impressed by being a boy. - Toshi  
_

_Gym class as a boy was a little entertaining, actually. I could run faster, throw farther, jump higher, plus I was way stronger. I would love to be a boy if all I had to worry about was sports and having fun. Not even having to worry about whether or not I'd have to drop out of school. That would be a non-issue if I were a guy. - Hikaru  
_

_The conversation I overheard from Tetsushi didn't compare in the least to the one I heard from Kyou. Imagine… Kyou in love with Mizuki this whole time and Yasuake probably knew it, too. No wonder he hadn't made a move on her. His best friend loved her as well. - Ichiko  
_

We finally turned into girls again. Every sweaty last one of us. The whole thing had been an interesting learning experience. One that I would not care to repeat. Rika stood aloft as we showered and changed. When we were suitably ourselves again, she gave us that self-same smile.

"What were we supposed to have learned from this?" I asked. Rika did not answer but she waved sunnily and excused herself, leaving us to wonder about the entire ordeal.

We were card-playing on the quad, and we were as quiet as we'd ever been. We wore serious faces and we made no jokes and we didn't smile. Being flies on a stinky wall in the boys' changing room made us feel guilty and we were privy to things we should not have heard in the first place.

"So…any thoughts on post-modernism?" Hikaru asked. None of us replied for awhile.

"Damn my salsa, those boys were on fire!!!" Aya screeched. The tension had finally been broken and we all laughed.

"For my next bit of magic…I shall call on a unicorn to help me." I said in a grandiose fashion, hinting at Rika.

"You want a unicorn? They don't exist." Rika said. She skimmed through a magical journal and shoved an article under my face. The article was entitled, "Unicorns do NOT exist. What a shame."

"Well, isn't that what magic is for? To create something out of nothing?" I asked. Rika shook her head slowly, gently, as though trying to make a small child understand the basic theory of metaphysics.

"Magicians don't create something out of nothing. It's impossible. An Italian scientist by the name of Lazaro Spallanzani proved that you cannot create

life out of decomposing material. It's the same concept. You can't make something out of nothing."

"Can you manipulate something into being something else?"

The atmosphere popped and I felt very strange indeed. I was walking on all fours…

"Not me! Something else." I exclaimed. Rika giggled and wished me good night.

"Aren't you going to change me back?" I begged. I wasn't entirely happy about being horizontal to the floor.

"You'll be normal by morning, Ichiko-chan."

And indeed I was. I slept horribly, but at least I knew to be more specific and careful with my wishes. I had a red spot on my forehead from where my horn had chafed the wall, but other than that, I was no worse for the wear. At breakfast I said very little and I had no idea that it was providence that led me to my silence.

"Boys and girls, I know we have done our annual bake sale to raise money for our winter trip to the mountains, but this year I decided we should go in a different direction. All of you will be divided into groups and each group is going to perform a play. The cost of admission will fund our winter trip.

Your first block classes will tell you what your groups are. It will be the groups' jobs to advertise for their own plays, write their own scripts, and choose the right actors for the parts. The groups who raise the most money will get nicer cabins and their choice of bunk mates. Good luck to all of you." Osono-sensei finished her big speech and the entire school began chattering amongst themselves about this new development.

The winter trip was a week-long stay at a health resort where we learned to "eat more nutritiously" and become "more in tune with our bodies." We would go on hikes in our puffy jackets and bathe in the hot springs, eating food that fell off the ground yesterday…good times all around, I suppose. For two solid years, the boys had been complaining that the bake sale gave girls the edge to win out because girls were naturally predisposed to be culinary genii.

Osono-sensei must have grown tired of hearing the boys complain about it and neutralized the playing territory. Even though our groups were always boys AND girls, somehow the competition turned into boys VS girls. I could only imagine how this play thing would turn out. We'd be besting each other anyway at a different art form.

"…Group 6 consists of Toda Komatsu, Shuro Chidori, Hari Aoi," I listened as he listed a bunch of people I couldn't stand in the least, "Tsuda Megumi, Shuei Natsu, Tachibana Mizuki, Takabayashi Shoji, and Nagashiro Ichiko." I winced at the grouping and wondered if I could make Rika cast a spell that would put me in a better group. Mizuki was the only bright side to my group.

"I'm sorry, I must have made a mistake. Tachibana Mizuki is in Group 7. Yamazaki Yukifumi is in Group 6." Daisuke-sensei said. I swallowed hard and tried to fathom what it would be like having to spend multitudes of my time without any of my friends. I'd always had at least two of them with me in my cooking groups the last two years. Ugh. This did not bode well with me at all.

Komatsu was that jackass friend of Tetsushi's that called me a bitch. Shoji was that bully friend of Hikaru's that treated her like slime. Yukifumi was that rich brat that Toshi loved so much. Megumi was the worst gossip in school and the meanest girl in our grade. Natsu was some mouthy bastard that liked to complain a lot. The others I didn't know enough to list their faults.

The groups had to meet and sit together at lunch the first day and then once a week from then on. At lunch I sat down at their table and tried to visualize a specific spell that wouldn't teach me a lesson or get me in trouble.

"Don't you have anything to say, you dumb girl?" Natsu shouted even though he was only sitting across from me.

"Like what? I wasn't really paying attention." I said with a neutral smile. Aoi hid a tiny grin and restated what he'd said.

"First things first. We decide on the script. Any ideas?" He asked. We all sort of shrugged and said a whole bunch of nothing in particular.

"I have one that I've been writing. I can revise it and give you all a copy by tomorrow." A weird kid name Sumikko said. He had dark hair and wore glasses like Aoi, but he seemed a bit arrogant and cold. Sort of like Yukifumi, only less shy. He then left the lunch table rather dramatically and we stared after him in confusion.

"Assuming that the script is taken care of, we'll have auditions later this week and assign parts. Agreed?"

"Who died and made you boss?" Natsu barked. Aoi smiled.

"Are you volunteering for the job?" He asked. Natsu rolled his eyes and shook his head. Everyone else nominated Aoi to continue being leader.

After lunch I headed to my next to last class and didn't notice that I was being followed by a handsome stranger.

"Aoi! You scared me…Is something the matter?" I asked when I turned around and saw him inches away from me. Aoi shrugged.

"I heard you're not with Tetsushi anymore. Is that right?"

"More or less, definitely." I answered wryly. I was intrigued and vaguely hoped that Aoi would ask me out. Perhaps, though, it was still too soon.

"So you're not seeing anyone at all?" He asked. Again, I nodded and began to anticipate hearing those lovely words.

"Good. Then you'll have time to be my leading lady in the play. All the other girls in our group had steadies and didn't want the responsibility of being the lead. Can you do it?" He asked fervently. I nodded, still numb from shock. What an overhaul…served me right, I guess, for counting my eggs before they hatched. Yeesh.

"Sure. Able and willing, and all that." I said. Aoi grinned at me. He pulled at the ends of my hair and told me that he'd see me later. It was just a hunch, but it felt like perhaps Aoi was toying with me on purpose? I wonder what his motivations were. He can't possibly like me yet, I haven't even shown him my sparkling personality…only I don't really have a sparkling personality. It twinkles, maybe, but it definitely doesn't sparkle.

"How do you like your group, Ichiko-chan?" Mizuki asked me. She laid down a seven and picked up a two, accidentally letting her cards show. I memorized her hand and with a perfect game face, I grabbed my Queen of Clubs.

"Gin! And I have mixed feelings about the group thing. Most of the people I don't care for, but some are very promising." I said with a glint in my eye. Mizuki frowned at my cards and sighed.

"I don't know anyone in my group either." Mizuki mumbled, shuffling the deck. Her tongue appeared at the corner of her mouth as she determinedly passed out the cards between the two of us.

"I know. It's awful. This is the first year that we've been double shafted, right? First no bake sale, which happened to be my forte, and then no friends in my group. Will the injustice never end?" Aya groaned. She grabbed a pretzel and put it in the pot.

"You can't keep betting, Aya. Just show your damn cards already!" Toshi shouted. I could almost see smoke seeping from her nostrils.

"What are you so pissed off at?" I asked. Aya nudged her playfully.

"She's upset because Gaku is in her group." Hikaru supplied. I smirked good-naturedly. Aya laid her cards out in front of Toshi and Hikaru, boasting a full house. Toshi grunted and sent her cards flying into Aya's face. Aya only laughed.

"Actually, my group is okay. At least Rika is in it." Hikaru said. I felt a twinge of jealousy because after all, Rika was my friend first…I think. Just then I felt a strong punch on my shoulder and I hit the ground spitting.

"No fraternizing with the enemy, Nagashiro." I heard Natsu's grating voice and my nose wrinkled in displeasure. He grabbed me and set me upright as if I were his bookbag and gave me a mean look as he left.

"Someone has a new boyfriend." Aya began chanting. I glowered at her.

"Don't be a jackass. He's just some dumb jerk from my group." I said. Aya's eyebrows jumped up and down suggestively until Toshi slapped the side of her head. The side that controlled behavior, I imagine.

"He's not very nice, is he?" Mizuki was staring after him, her brows furrowed in anger. She turned her gaze upon me after a moment and kept checking my shoulder where I'd been smacked.

"I'm fine. He hits like my granny." I said. Come to think of it…Natsu was quite cute. But unfortunately any crushes he might have gotten from girls were whittled away by his pesky and brash personality. Maybe if I helped him with his manners, he could be more well received in social settings?

"You know what's wrong with girls like you, Nagashiro? You're too damn meddlesome. 'Oh, I'm a problem solver. I have to fix things. I have to fix people.' Well, you're not fixing me, sweetheart. I'm not going to be your makeover project just because you need some way to occupy your pathetic time. I refuse with a huge, resounding HELL NO!" Natsu yelled in my face. We were standing behind the statues in the school gardens with only pigeons to witness our conversation.

"Let me take a wild shot in the dark. You don't have a girlfriend, do you? Because you're too stubborn and rude and all the other less nice adjectives in the dictionary." I said to him, both hands on my hips. Natsu turned bright red and he looked as if he wished to kill me. I refused to cower.

"You're only getting mad because I'm right. Right? At any rate, whether or not you want my help, I'm setting some ground rules for this group thing. You can be as nasty as you want to anybody else because they'll let you. I, however, refuse. You will treat me nicely and I won't listen to you or respond to you if you are yelling or cursing. Have a good day." I waved to him as I headed back to the quad and my fifth straight win at Gin Rummy.

"I'm so jealous, Ichiko. You're in a group with Yukifumi. My, but he's gorgeous." Toshi said, clasping her hands together dreamily. I shook my head slowly and concentrated on Mizuki. We were getting pretty competitive and I wasn't about to let go of my lucky streak.

"Gorgeous? Looks like a stuck-up snob to me. Him and his harem of crazy women…" I barely registered half of what I was saying. Toshi gritted her teeth.

"His parents made him get engaged to that one girl." She supplied.

"How does that explain the girlfriend he's got at school?" I answered. Toshi's lip quivered and I knew instantly that I had gone too far. But then she shook her head and that familiar motivated expression on her face returned.

"It might take him awhile to realize he's in love with me. Once he does, though, there will be no stopping the marriage and eventual honeymoon in Barbados." Toshi ate her pretzel winnings and I couldn't help but admire her optimism and assumptions that were, to say the least, far-fetched.

I was lying in bed that night thinking about a zillion things at once. Aoi and his cute little smile, the way he teased me and pulled my hair. Natsu, who was probably a true kindred spirit underneath a thick façade of pure jerk. Toshi and her ever-loving Yukifumi. Gaku, who had to live with the knowledge that Toshi sort of hated him.

Hikaru and her quiet wisdom, and her hidden demons that she has yet to tell us about. I'm growing rather impatient, I suppose. Mizuki and her innocent way of thinking. Even if Yasu asked her out, she probably wouldn't know how to handle it, even though she loves him deeply. Kyou and his doomed love for his best friend's girl. I even thought of Aya and her boy-crazy eccentricities.

Then, naturally I thought of Rika, and how much better friends we're getting to be. And yes, I'll admit I vaguely dared to ponder over Tetsushi for a minute or two. By the time I was through thinking, I had almost fallen asleep. Almost. I heard Rika talking in her sleep and at first it sounded unintelligible, like gibberish. But upon closer inspection, I noticed that the words were quite coherent.

"She can't. May the tree spirits help her. Prevent the inevitable. Banish his wicked doings…" She went on like this for at least an hour. I soaked up everything she said and I was insanely curious who she was talking about. I assumed it must have been about one of us girls. Aya, Toshi, Mizuki, Hikaru…or me. We were the only friends she had. So which one of us was she trying to help and for what reason?


	9. A Rehearsal to Remember

_Our play is in full swing and I feel we have a good chance of winning. Our script is one we collaborated on and I feel it has great potential. I'm playing a semi-lead role, which is fun and all, but the drawback is that I play a boy in this play. A teenage boy. I've been getting the feeling that I don't really understand teen boys enough to tackle this role, but I suppose I'm more up for it than anybody else in our group._

_ I heard a couple of people call me tomboy the other day and it made me sort of happy. I enjoy being different and still having wonderful friends I can count on. Despite none of my friends being in my group, I like doing the group work anyhow. I feel like I am driven towards a fruitful goal. Which reminds me…I really wish Osono-sensei hadn't gotten rid of the bake sale. - Mizuki  
_

_I love teasing Toshi. I think it must be one of the prime joys of my life. For some reason I think she and Gaku are made for each other. But do you think she'll ever give him a chance? I doubt it. She's so stuck up on Yukifumi, the rich playboy with like a million girlfriends under his belt. _

_As a matter of fact, I'd like to see what would happen if Yuki should suddenly become available. I bet Toshi wouldn't find him so hot if started taking an interest in her. I feel like having a little chat with my friend Rika. - Aya  
_

_Gaku is in my group. This single sentence speaks volumes of all my anguish. Gaku is the bane of my existence and the one who makes me believe in the devil. On a happier note, I'm glad to see Ichiko with other men in her life. I hope she can go out with one of them and see how much better they are for her than Tetsushi._

_ Tetsushi is probably no good for any girl. He needs to grow up and get a spine. Anyway, I'm still trying to swallow the fact that Rika is indeed a witch. I had her pegged from when we first met but she really surprised me, I don't get that often. People can still be very surprising indeed. - Toshi  
_

_I asked Rika about a certain spell. I wanted Shoji to break his promise to his grandfather and release me from my engagement. She said she would try, but she also admitted that such big magic might turn the wheels of fate in the wrong direction, causing misfortune and disaster. _

_She offered to let me know if she felt the fates resisting her power. I held my breath the first night and Rika said things were going smoothly. But the next day she said things weren't looking as well as she had hoped. I don't know who to pray to for a miracle, but I desperately need one. - Hikaru  
_

_Aoi. Handsome, charming, flirty…I bet he's a womanizer, or a cheat, or a scoundrel. Something vile and coarse. No man can be that good-looking and sincere. Then there's Natsu. Rude, bitchy, gripey…ugh. What a turn-off. And yet, he's someone with strong possibilities._

_ I find myself liking the both of them, as well as Sumikko, who gave me my copy of the script today. He was cool and collected, emotionless…ah, he was a delight to the senses. Listen to me, I sound as nuts about guys as Aya. But at least I'm thinking of someone else besides Tetsushi. And that's all that really matters. - Ichiko  
_

As if like magic, our first rehearsal went as smooth as silk on glass. Everyone was cooperative, everyone had real team spirit, and everyone was getting along pretty well together. Who am I kidding? It went well for maybe half an hour and then the crap hit the fan in a really heinous way.

First, this girl named Chidori was fussed at because she didn't say her lines loud enough. I promised I'd work with her on projecting to an audience. Natsu got into fights with almost everyone. Aoi, the only calm one in our group, began pulling at his hair in frustration. Megumi teased me when I recited my first monologue. She may not have wanted the part, but she didn't want anyone else to have it and be successful with it either. I read it again the next time, adding more feeling to it. Sumikko shook his head and told me I was wrong with a capital 'w'.

Shoji was opposite me in the lead male role and he was my 'love interest.' I couldn't have asked for a more awkward situation. The plot was that Shoji and I were doomed lovers because he had to go off to war and some evil man who didn't want us together sent me a telegram saying he had died in service and I was so heartbroken that I jumped off a cliff the day before he was discharged.

What dramatic irony, eh? Yes, indeed, Natsu played the part of the evil man. Everyone else was simply a walk-on or necessary exposition. One of the first scenes I did was a love scene with Shoji. We were in each others arms, so-to-speak, with Shoji's grip like a block of ice.

"Stay true to me, Nana. I couldn't bear the thought of you with someone else." Shoji said. He accidentally pinched my arm and I squealed in pain.

"Focus, you lousy amateurs." Sumikko shouted. I flinched and gave Shoji a dirty look.

"You know there is no else for me but you. Of course I'll stay true. I will be waiting for you when you come back home." To this line, we were supposed to punctuate it with a romantic kiss. Shoji came in for the kill, but I turned my head and he caught my hair-band by mistake. He groaned and touched his lip gingerly.

"I'm bleeding! I can't work like this. Either she goes or I go!" Shoji screamed. I stood staring at him, my mouth agape in sheer surprise. We were standing on the stage in front of our entire group and I felt like crawling into the wooden cracks and disappearing. Aoi and Sumikko whispered to each other and nodded.

Aoi then looked up to the two of us onstage, shielding his eyes from the stage lights. He smiled at us both and I was afraid that he would axe me for sure. After my first day on the job, too.

"Alright then, Shoji. You win…." Aoi said. I became very nervous and my palms were sweating.

"The part of Nana will be played by Nagashiro Ichiko." He said. Shoji's eyes turned into tiny slits.

"The part of Akito will be played by myself." Aoi announced. I nearly fainted from relief and anxiety. I couldn't tell if my situation had gotten better or worse.

"Rehearsal is done for the day due to the change in casting. We'll meet after school tomorrow in one of the rehearsal rooms. Be off script after this weekend, people." Aoi waved everyone off and he pulled my arm to keep me behind.

"Is something wrong, Aoi?" I asked him warily. He was going to lower the boom on me this time.

"No. You did great. I wanted to apologize on Shoji's behalf. I hope I can do as well as you, Ichiko. I almost fell in love with you when you did that monologue." He said. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and pushed a stray strand of sandy blond hair aside. His hair was shaggy, his eyes were light blue, his nose was short and cute…I shook my head and ignored such foolish thoughts.

"Thanks. I think…are you sure you're okay with both directing and acting? I don't want you to spread yourself too thin." I said. Aoi nodded.

"Absolutely. I'll see you at rehearsal tomorrow. Don't practice the kissing scene without me, now." Aoi left the theatre and I felt millions of butterflies having a dance marathon in my stomach.

"So he actually said that? The kissing thing?" Rika looked up from her daily horoscope to clarify my statement.

"Yes. How about that, huh?" I said, writing in my diary. I was giving it several juicy secrets and the diary was quite obliging. Rika returned to her book and I felt a sudden burst of courage.

"Who were you talking about the other night? I heard you talking in your sleep." Rika gave me an odd sort of glance, like hesitation.

"No one. I just have a bad habit, that's all." Rika hid behind her book and I gave myself permission to sit beside her on her bed. I pulled the book away from her and stared into her dark brown eyes. She couldn't lie to me.

"I'm helping Hikaru. That's all I can say." Rika looked ashamed for what she had said and she left the room in haste. I began to follow her, skipping steps along the way in order to catch up to her. I slid out of the commons window and climbed down a tree, having spotted a cat that looked like Rika. I ran after the cat across the dark quad, stopping when I heard voices gathered behind the garden hedges. I hid inside a bush and held my breath to listen.

"We had a deal. Are you just going to back out now? You bastard." I heard someone say. There appeared to be a group of several boys standing around in a circle talking to each other.

"When you break the rules, the deal becomes null and void."

"The witch. She has something to do with it. I can feel it." I nearly gasped and hoped that Rika was far away from this place. I rubbed my forehead trying to think of how I could protect her.

"Leave her be. We'll get to her later. For now, I have a plan…" The guy speaking lowered his voice and I strained my ears to hear. My mind raced and I thought of a thousand scenarios that fit this conversation. I crept out of the bush and brushed my nightgown, making sure it was safe to run.

I took one last fleeting glance at the darkened heads conversing in the hedges and made for the girls' dormitory. I bumped into something quiet forcefully and flew to the ground with a bone-crunching thump. I laid on the ground, trying to keep quiet until a hand reached down and grabbed my arm gently.

"What are you doing here this late at night?" Natsu whispered to me, as he was pulling me up. I stumbled in shock and he wrapped his arms around me to catch me. I felt my heart jump and I pushed his arms away.

"Nothing. Just looking for my cat." I said as I was walking away.

"You're not allowed to have a cat." Natsu said, his arms crossed as if he'd caught me in a lie. I grinned stupidly and just kept walking.

I wasn't able to sleep. I had so many mysteries in my head that I wanted to solve. I tossed and turned, bunching up my covers and sheets. Things were even worse when Rika had not yet returned and it was early morning. I glanced across the room over to her bed. The emptiness made my chest feel hollow. I got up and dressed myself, vowing to find her before anything happened.


	10. Friends Forever

_At breakfast, Ichiko didn't show up. Rika wasn't there, either, so I figure they must be working on a spell or something. They __have been making several plans lately that they haven't told us about. I don't know whether to be worried that they're gone or mad that they're keeping things from us. _

_Maybe the fact of the matter is that I'm jealous of Rika. Ichiko hung out with us a lot more before they became friends. I feel so horrible for thinking so ill of Rika, who's really a great person, but I can't help it. I think I'll talk to Ichiko about it the next time I see her. - Mizuki  
_

_Jealous? Probably. Mad? You bet. I hear so much stuff from other girls at dinner that I can't help myself. Aoi is planning on asking Ichiko out. I am quite happy for her, naturally, but I can't help but think that maybe she thinks Rika is cooler than we are. Which couldn't be further from the truth. Even though she does know magic and some junk._

_ Anyway, in other news: I am so sick and tired of hearing Toshi go on and on about Yukifumi. Screw Yukifumi. I am so close to walking up to him and spilling the beans about everything you would not believe. Toshi would absolutely die. - Aya  
_

_Why am I constantly thinking of Gaku? Is it my intense hatred of him? The fact that he's always ragging on me and calling me a bad actress? Why does it hurt when he says those things and why do I care so much about what he thinks? - Toshi  
_

_Shoji hasn't said a word to me in quite some time. I'm hoping that the spell is working. I've been thinking a lot about our engagement and the fact that I might have to quit school if the spell doesn't work. In a world without magic, nothing could have saved me. What will save me then if magic can't? I think I should confess my secret to my friends. I'm ready to. - Hikaru  
_

_I found Rika in the basement, lying in a fetal position on the floor. She was sound asleep and I draped my jacket over her. I laid down beside her, wishing I could hide her away from the men who were looking for her. It was much too dangerous for her to stay where she was. I made an inner promise to myself then that I would protect her at any cost. - Ichiko  
_

"I'll be fine, Ichiko. I can take care of myself, really I can." Rika said when she woke up and I told her my plan to hide her away. Rika shook her head and insisted that things should stay just the way they were. I could do nothing but agree, so I did. I agreed rather begrudgingly. The sun had yet to come out and we were walking back to our room. We crossed the pale blue quad hand in hand.

"I'm scared, Ichiko. There are things about magic that I still don't understand and I think I got in way over my head. I never wanted to hurt anyone." Rika said, squeezing my hand. I squeezed back.

"I know, Rika. Everything will be okay in the end. I promise. Whatever lies ahead of us can't be too bad if we're together." I said with a smile. Rika glanced up at me with tears in her eyes. We kept on walking.

I sat at our usual table for breakfast and aside from being dreadfully tired, I felt pretty happy. I had good friends that supported me and I could be there for them as well in return.

And then I realized that I hadn't been there that much for Mizuki, who knows what could have happened with her and Yasu, or Toshi, who could have admitted her true feelings for Gaku by now, or Aya, who might be practically engaged to Shuichi, or even Hikaru, who definitely had issues that she might have told the others when I wasn't around. It served me right not to know anything about their lives anymore.

"So…how's the play going?" I asked them. They seemed reluctant to talk to me.

"Oh, fine, Ichiko." Mizuki said, avoiding eye contact with me.

"As well as can be expected, I suppose." Hikaru stared down at her lap.

"Why don't you ask Rika? Surely a witch can read other people's thoughts, right?" Aya said with bitterness.

"Sometimes I just can't understand you, Ichiko. You're keeping something from us even though we're your best friends. Maybe Rika is your best friend, now."

"She could never replace you guys…" I started to say, but Toshi put her hand up to stop me, mid-sentence. I sighed heavily.

"Please spare us." Aya said, playing the perfect martyr. I did not feel welcome at the table anymore, so I left and went outside. I sat on the steps and waited until breakfast was over, just sitting and thinking. My friends were mad at me. They had a good reason, to be sure. I felt like the worst friend in the world. I didn't deserve their friendship at all. I wondered how things went so wrong so fast…it was truly amazing.

"It's my fault that you're having these problems, Ichiko. I want to apologize for getting in the way of your friendships." Rika touched my shoulder and I bit my lip. Rika wasn't at fault…I knew she wasn't.

"Rika, I'm to blame. You have nothing to do with it." I told her. She sat beside me and smiled.

"Have you ever heard of the phrase 'what goes around comes around'?" Rika asked.

"Does that mean that I was wrong and I should apologize?" I asked wearily. Rika gave a slight nod of her head.

"Partly, yes. But it's partly them, too. Don't worry. Everything balances out eventually." Rika put her arm around me and I was instantly comforted.

"Um, I think I've thought up a new spell. Can you make me a great actress?"

"Ichiko, you're a fine actress already. Why tamper with pure talent just to make it artificially better?" Rika began to laugh. I looked at her in exasperation until I began to laugh, too.

Class was spent passing letters to Rika thinking up a spell to keep her safe amidst the chaos, which would allow her to still attend school. Spells, I somewhat understood, were tricky. Like words, given in a certain tone and manner, using the most precise and best ones of the bunch, they had the power to cause wounds or heal pain.

If we didn't select the very best one, it could be detrimental to Rika. During lunch I avoided my table and helped Rika perform her spell. We finally thought we had chosen the best one and we were hoping for the best after setting it into motion. We sat in the basement for awhile after the spell was cast.

Practice for the play that day was unusual. Shoji seemed apologetic about his behavior the other day. Aoi wasn't his regular, confident self either. Plus, most of the girls in our group stopped harassing me for the most part. And Natsu? He was civil to me for once. I nearly had a stroke from all these good changes.

It was enough to make a skeptic believe in miracles. I was standing on the stage facing Aoi, our final goodbye before he left for war. I began to hug him, hoping that the perfume I'd put on wasn't too strong or anything. I was nervous, wishing that I could calm down before I started shaking.

"What's wrong, Ichiko? Are the stage lights too hot?" He asked. I blinked a few times.

"Um…no. I'm fine, Aoi. Just a little woozy, perhaps." With that I held him tighter and launched into my lines with abandon. I was so dramatic it was shameless. By the end, I'd managed to make all the girls cry, most of the boys wince uncomfortably, and Natsu grin. Aoi stood back and applauded me.

I was a little embarrassed that I'd really gone for the jugular that time, but my results really were quite pleasing. The natural things in life are better, I suppose. Another lesson I learned from Rika. I turned to the entrance of the auditorium and a crowd had gathered during the last scene and they began to applaud the second I took note of their presence. At the head of the large mass of onlookers, my best friends were cheering the loudest of all.


	11. Audition: New Boyfriend

_I have never been more proud of Ichiko in my entire life. Something about the way she's thrown herself body and soul into acting. She's my inspiration, I think. Even though I am still a bit upset at the things we've done to each other, I can never stay mad at Ichiko for long. She's my best friend. - Mizuki  
_

_Naturally I knew all along that Ichiko was a major talent. She always has shown an interest in acting. It was only a matter of time before the duck got her feet wet and started swimming in the lake. I think I shall throw her a loaf of bread and forgive her. - Aya  
_

_I felt awful for all the things I said to Ichiko. I realized that I was jealous of Rika. The fact that they're roommates and share her witchy little secret and that they spend so much time together, I feel left out and abandoned. _

_It may not be warranted and it may be out of line, but I think I hate Rika for the simple fact that she stole my best friend away from me. - Toshi  
_

_Ichiko is still in pain right now. She sees everyone and thinks she isn't good enough, or thinks that people don't like her. She sees Tetsushi's life and how he's somehow thriving without her and I truly think a piece of her is dying. Rumor has it that he's the lead in his group and our drama teacher is making him her pet. _

_The rumor wheel doesn't stop there, however. Everyone is convinced that his group will win. But anyone who saw Ichiko do that scene with Aoi would know that she's a shoo-in for first prize. I hope for her sake that she beats him at his own game and gains the bragging rights. - Hikaru  
_

_Aah, I never believed I was that good of an actress. Our drama teacher always praised me for things, but it often sounded fake and forced. She seemed a bit patronizing and condescending. But now this group project…it's like a second chance. A saving grace, if you will. I'll show everyone who thought I wasn't good enough that I AM indeed good enough. I can't wait to see a few select faces on opening night. I'll blow them away. - Ichiko  
_

Tetsushi came up to me and tried being friendly. I was happy to discover that I didn't want anything to do with him, but I remained civil until I could excuse myself. If he didn't want me, then why should I want him around? I began thinking about his very existence and the fact that it irritated me.

Perhaps I could make Rika erase the time we'd been together or even erase his entire being. Maybe not that dramatic, but I did want something done about the fact that I regretted going out with him. If it was all going to end like that, I'd rather not have dated him at all.

"Now you don't really mean that, do you, Ichiko?" Rika looked up at me as I was passing her to go to my seat. I propped my lips out in a pouty manner.

"Yes, I really do!" I told her with childish defiance. I sat at my seat and twirled my hair around, not really listening to the teacher. I felt bored and rather offended that Tetsushi only just now gained the nerve to talk to me like a friend. No doubt because he wanted to keep his competition under close watch.

When I really stopped to think about it, I wanted to vomit. It made me more determined than ever to cream his dorky ass in the play. When class was over, Rika turned around to face me and shook her head as though she'd been listening to my private thoughts during the lesson.

"If you perform trying to get even, the audience can tell." Rika said in a soft voice as she exited the classroom. I gave a sigh that seemed to penetrate the heavens. I was more frustrated than I'd ever been in my life and to make matters worse, everything I did, or said, or thought seemed to be wrong. I couldn't make progress in any area of my life, it seemed.

"Hey, Nagashiro…I was impressed. But don't think I won't ride you to be good on opening night." Natsu ruffled my hair as I walked by him. I gave him an odd look but he kept on walking. It was strange, but he was actually taking my advice. Go figure. I glanced ahead of me and I saw Yuki, the rich boy, holding a slip of paper and talking to the custodian. He looked a bit too cheerful to be Yuki, but I shrugged. The custodian pointed at me for some reason and Yuki began walking toward me, waving.

"Girl! Uh, didn't you play Nana?" He asked me. I crinkled my nose at him.

"Yuki, don't be a jackass. You're in my group. You work the curtain." I said with as much patience as I could muster. Yuki laughed and I could only gaze at him blankly, wishing I knew what his deal was.

"You think I'm Yukifumi! That's a good one. Actually I'm his twin brother, Yukihiko. I go to a different school and I'm here visiting him. I saw his play yesterday afternoon and I couldn't help but notice how wonderful your performance was. I asked the janitor guy where I could find you and just my luck you were walking in my direction any way." He smiled and I simply stood there like a goose who forgot where the pond was.

"That's nice. Thank you very much. Are you in town long?" I was never much good at chit chat, but I figured I'd make the effort since he complimented me.

"I'm transferring. This is my first official day at this school. I told my brother you were pretty cute and I decided that you should be the one to show me around to my classes. Is that okay with you?" He asked with a grin. He closed his eyes more the bigger his grin got. I took a deep breath and nodded, ignoring the pounding in my chest. Toshi would go mental on me if she saw me talking to Yuki, even if it was the wrong one.

I gave him a tour of the ground floor and an overview of what the upstairs was like. I dropped him off at each of his classes and picked him up when we were ready to move on to the next one.

"Wow, this building seems so…big." He said. I was beginning to think of him as a cheerful flake. Pleasant to be around, but no one you want to start a study group with.

"Why weren't you able to come here at the beginning of the year?" I asked, walking him to the cafeteria. He gave a little chuckle.

"I failed the entrance exams. The admissions person was finally tired of arguing with my father so they let me come on the condition that he donated a whole bunch of money. Being rich is really funny sometimes." He said with a short laugh. Dumb, yes, but I knew I liked him better than Yukifumi.

"I couldn't agree more. Wealth happens to be the most popular topic with comedians right now, I'm sure." I said without thinking. I bit my tongue, chastising myself for saying something so bizarre and stupid. Yukihiko only laughed. I picked up a tray of udon noodles and went to my usual table. Of course, Yuki followed me.

"Don't you want to sit with your brother?" I asked, before any of the girls arrived. Yuki gave me a dirty look and shook his head.

"I don't like my brother. Plus I'd rather sit with you." He smiled, eyes completely closed. I stared at the ceiling for a minute and felt him scoot up next to me. Mizuki sat down first, followed by everyone except Toshi. She was frozen near the drink machine and could not move. I beckoned to her and she finally sat down, her body as jumpy as a cat at a dogshow.

"Toshi, this is Yukifumi's BROTHER, Yukihiko." I said, hoping it would make her less tense. She immediately morphed into her regular self and greeted him with friendliness.

"You know, Ichiko, I really like you. We should go out. Do you want to?" Yukihiko said after we had started eating. I nearly choked at his words. Mizuki dropped her chop sticks, Toshi's jaw fell open, Aya fainted dead away, and Hikaru took another bite of the noodles.

"You and I could be related, Ichiko!" Toshi said in the midst of silence. I slapped my forehead and covered my eyes. I did not want to see.

Rehearsal was ten times as awkward as lunch, unfortunately. It was an actual dress rehearsal and I was wearing a lacy gown that seemed to me to be almost see-through. I was staring at Aoi, his boyish smile making me week in the knees. Suddenly my vision detected a spy. Yukihiko was sitting in the front row with his elbows on his knees, watching me.

"Focus, Ichiko. You look great, by the way." Aoi began reciting his first few lines from the scene, sometimes ad-libbing a bit from stuff he forgot. Luckily it didn't throw me off and I was able to make the scene flow. When we got toward the kissing part, however, Aoi really strayed off the script.

"What are you doing, Aoi?" I whispered with my teeth closed as I smiled.

"This is our last night together, Nana. I want to be with you in every sense of the word." He said as he began to lunge for me. Natsu cleared his throat quite loudly and stomped onto the stage in a fury.

"This isn't in the script, you crazy lunatic!" Natsu yelled at him, throwing the script against the wall.

"I'm the director, aren't I? I want to take this scene in a different direction."

"I don't think the school would allow you to go in that direction." Sumikko said, adjusting his glasses. Aoi sighed and took my hand.

"All right, let's continue from before that one line." He said with remorse. He told my character that he'd be back soon and wanted me to wait for him. I responded by choking up and promising him I would indeed wait for him. He took me in his arms and instead of prepping for a stage kiss like we learned, he headed straight for my lips. I backed away from his grip until I stumbled and fell on the floor. I heard a chorus of giggles backstage and I blushed ferociously.

"I saw that, Aoi. Either do it right or I'll be What's-his name in the play!" Natsu blurted out from behind the curtain. I blushed even brighter. Sumikko mumbled to himself in a distressed tone of voice. Yukihiko smiled and gave me a thumbs-up sign. Natsu poked his head around the curtain, glaring deliberately at Yukihiko.

"Who's the fruit?" He asked me. Yukifumi, who worked the curtains, answered him back in a harsh tone.

"He's my brother."


	12. Well Laid Plans

_I hope Ichiko wins. She deserves it as hard as I've seen her work on it these past several rehearsals. I wonder how she really feels about Yuki. He is quite handsome, and totally rich, as Toshi keeps reminding me. He seems so much nicer than his brother. It baffles me that Toshi still thinks that Yukifumi is the better brother._

_ I think she needs her head examined. I wonder if that means Ichiko doesn't want to go out with Aoi. He seemed to be flirting with her heavily the other day. But what do I know about love? Kyou sent me a note that told me he wanted to be my boyfriend. I've avoided him ever since then because I simply don't know what to say. - Mizuki  
_

_If I were Ichiko, I would date Yukihiko. He is drop dead dumb, gorgeous, and rich. He's the kinda guy you can talk into buying you a town for your birthday. Yukihiko and Yukifumi are like polar opposites on the personality spectrum, but my garters alive! They look exactly alike._

_ The only way I can tell them apart is Yukifumi wears a scowl as easily as Yukihiko wears a dumb grin. I keep waiting for them to switch places on us for laughs like they do in all those lame tv shows in syndication. 'But I really AM Yuki. Just not the one you think!' Teehee. But watch her choose some loser like Natsu who can't control his temper. - Aya  
_

_I couldn't sleep last night. Gaku kissed me. And the worst part is, I actually liked it, sort of. How dare he try to ruin my plans with Yukifumi! - Toshi  
_

_Shoji has been acting weird lately. He's been particularly nice to me and my friends. He hasn't asked me to do anything. He hasn't even mentioned our engagement and my dropping out of school at the end of the year. Then again I haven't seen much of him lately ever since he was demoted in the play._

_ I think someone told me he was actually hired to be in a commercial. I asked his parents and they gave me the details. He's going to do a hair commercial promoting his father's chain of beauty salons. Apparently he was better off not being in the play at school. I'm happy for him, and myself, but I wonder how long my luck can hold out. - Hikaru  
_

_I think I'll go out with Yukihiko. I could do a lot worse than him. Namely Tetsushi. For some reason I've been having weird dreams about him and I can't figure them out. In my dreams I'm always happy to see him and we're always laughing and hugging each other. _

_When I wake up I just get angry with my subconscious for being so easy on him. I almost can't stand him and then I go to sleep and it's like history is repeating itself. I think I'll definitely go out with Yukihiko. He's very nice-looking, I must confess. - Ichiko  
_

I sent Yuki a text message when I went to my room, telling him I was glad to accept his offer. I sat on my bed as Rika was reading from one of her weekly astrological magazines. I closed my phone with a click sound as though that would get her attention.

"I know Yuki asked you out. I'm really glad he did. Maybe now you can stop dreaming about your ex-boyfriend." She said with mild interest. My mouth stood open in shock.

"How do you…" I began. Rika shrugged. It really wasn't necessary to ask in the first place. Rika had ways of knowing all about the world around her.

"Even if I can't interpret your dreams, which you have to do yourself, I can help in other ways. For example, I can tell you that Toshi is experiencing feelings for Gaku…"

"Oh, how great! But it took her long enough." I said, clasping my hands together. Rika wasn't finished, though.

"And Mizuki is seconds away from spilling the beans to Yasu, which will prove to be interesting as it develops. Shoji might be ready to leave Hikaru alone for good, and Aya might have broken it off with Shuichi."

"How come you know more about my friends than I do?" I asked, baffled by the abundance of information.

"I'm a witch. But that's irrelevant. I asked them." She said with a smile. I nodded, thinking myself rather stupid.

"I see you're not worried about those hooded men anymore. Did you have them wiped out or something?" I asked, trying to deflect the attention away from myself. Rika stiffened and gave me a weird look.

"No, dummy. But I do know when they're meeting next. The two of us are going to go incognito. A real stakeout." She said, eyes aglow with excitement.


End file.
